Protected By Love
by AngryBirdx
Summary: Marlene McKinnon sent her daughter away just days before her murder. This story follows her daughter, now all grown up, as she goes on a journey to discover who her mother really was. And when Voldemort returns, she is given the perfect opportunity to avenge her mother's death. Starts in GoF.


**A/N - Hello lovely readers. I've been reading loads of HP fanfic recently and really want to write one myself. I'm coming towards the end of my degree now so updates are likely to take a long time (until the summer) but I thought I'd put this up as a taster to get a feel of the response. When stories get a good response, writers are more inclined to write and update. I have a good idea of where this story is going and really want to complete it, so I hope you enjoy it. **

Amber McKinnon tossed and turned in her bed but sleep evaded her. In less than 10 hours a select few students from Beauxbatons academy were leaving for the Triwizard Tournament which this year was being hosted by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Amber had no desire to compete, not that she was allowed. At 16, she was just shy of the age limit but she also didn't have a death wish. In the school assembly called by Madame Maxime to inform them of the upcoming competition, they were told about the tragedies of previous tournament. Twenty years ago the tournament was disbanded because of its dangerous nature. She was a bright witch and wasn't about to throw away her future for the sake of a thousand galleon prize.

Even so, Amber had a burning desire to be on the coach to England.

Amber had been born there but she had no memory of it. She had no memory of her parents, for they had sent her away when she was barely a year old. When she was old enough to understand, her Aunt Julia explained to Amber as best she could.

XXX Flashback XXX

The letter from Beauxbatons had just arrived. Amber was overjoyed that come September she'd be learning magic, but part of her had hoped she'd be enrolled in Hogwarts. Though she'd never specifically mentioned it, she knew that her Aunt had studied at Hogwarts before moving to France, and she could only assume that her mother had too.

"Congratulations, Amber," her Aunt stood in the doorway, "Are you not happy about this?" She could obviously see the flicker of disappointment on Amber's face.

"I wanted to go to Hogwarts, like you and Mum. I was born in England, wasn't I? So why can't I study there?" Julia walked over to the bed and sat down next to Amber and placed an arm around her.

"Beauxbatons is a fantastic school; there is nothing you can learn at Hogwarts that you can't learn there. And Madame Maxime is a wonderful headmistress, though a bit on the tall side."

"But Albus Dumbledore is a wonderful headmaster too. I've done some research into Hogwarts, it looks beautiful. What house were you in? I bet you were Ravenclaw, that's the clever house."

"Actually your mother and I were both in Gryffindor, the house of the courageous.." Julia's voice trailed off. It was obvious there was more to say but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Why won't you tell me more about her, my mother? All you say is that she sent me here to keep me safe before she died, but I'm old enough to know more. Please, Aunt Julia, I deserve to know."

Her aunt headed towards the door as if she was leaving but instead she shut the door and went back to the bed.

"Many years ago there was a very dark wizard in England. He studied at Hogwarts, and was very talented, but he used his power for evil. He had very strong opinions against muggles, thought them to be useless and worthless, and so he began to kill them. Unfortunately he wasn't the only wizard to have these opinions and he built up a following."

"That's horrible! Uncle Pierre is a muggle and he's not useless. What was the wizard's name?"

"He grew up as a boy called Tom Riddle, but when the power got to his head he became known as… Oh I can barely bring myself to say his name. His name was Lord Voldemort, but those with any sense will call him You-Know-Who. Anyhow, before long other wizards grew tired of how You-Know-Who and started to stand up to him and his army of Death Eaters. Your mother was part of a group formed with the sole purpose of bringing him down."

"He killed her didn't he? But she wasn't a muggle!" Tears welled in Amber's eyes and her voice was squeaky as she lost control of her emotions.

"Unfortunately, any witch or wizard who didn't follow his way of thinking was considered a blood-traitor and therefore dispensable. It's unlikely that You-Know-Who himself killed her but one of his followers. You were barely one at the time. Your mother sent you out here to live with me and Pierre, in the hope that you would go back once You-Know-Who was defeated. When she died, I had no option but to keep you here and raise you."

"But what happened to him? Is he still out there?"

"Fortunately not. About a year after that a strange thing happened. You-Know-Who himself went to kill a wizard family, but the small child somehow survived the killing curse and You-Know-Who just disappeared and hasn't been seen since."

"And the boy?"

"His name is Harry Potter. He'll be 9 or 10 now."

XXX End of Flashback XXX

Amber dearly loved and missed her mother, despite the fact she had no recollection of her. And that conversation with her Aunt had sparked a desire in her to find out more. And what better place to start than Hogwarts, where it all began?

The sunlight starting to break through the curtains of her dorm room signalled that it was time to go. Madame Maxime had refused her request to join the trip to Hogwarts, so the only way was to sneak in. Amber was petite and would be able to squeeze in easily. Of all the ridiculous plans she had come up with (getting into a trunk with an undetectable extension charm being the most ridiculous) she settled for just using the disillusionment charm and sneaking onto the coach. It was a simple enough charm, and hopefully too simple for Madame Maxime to suspect anything.

Her rucksack was at the bottom of her bed. Since she was gate-crashing this trip she'd been forced to pack lightly. The bag, complete with an undetectable extension charm, contained only a few changes of clothes, some books and her diary. As a last minute thought she chucked in a couple of rolls of parchment. Last night she had written a letter to her Aunt, detailing where she was going.

_"Dear Aunt Julia,_

_I don't want you to be angry but should my plan work by the time you read this I will be in England at Hogwarts. Beauxbatons are going there for the Triwizard Tournament, but I'm going because I want to learn more about Mum. Someone there must have known her, or can at least direct me to someone who did. Please don't follow me, this is something I've wanted to do ever since you told me about her death and I want you to respect that. I'll be back soon._

_A_

_P.S Feel free to write back, just make sure that Mavis brings the letter to the write place!"_

Amber loved her barn owl Mavis but it wasn't the brightest bird in the flock. She tied the letter to the bird's leg then watched her fly off into the distance.

Now it was time to go her heart began to flutter. This wasn't exactly a fool-proof plan but it was her best chance of getting to Hogwarts. If today failed then she'd be back to square one. Today couldn't fail.


End file.
